Please, Not This Time
by Kobra Kid
Summary: Inspired by Brighter, a Paramore song: Casey and Cappie haven't spoke since Myrtle Beach, so when they meet to give each other their belongings back, how will it go?


_Now I think we're taking this too far.  
Don't you know that it's not this hard?  
Well, it's not this hard…  
But you take what's yours and I take mine,  
Must we go there?  
Please, not this time  
No, not this time…_

_~Brighter by Paramore_

Graduation is so close, that it makes Casey queasy just thinking about it.

George Washington Law is right around the corner, and Casey will be taking the steps in a direction away from Cappie.

Then again, she figures it won't be too hard to do that; they haven't spoken since that night he broke up with her at Myrtle Beach. As much as it upset her, Casey thinks of the break up as a sign that GW is where she needs to be. Following her dreams is what she needs to do, instead of moping and crying, and staying at Cyprus for her boyfriend…well, ex-boyfriend.

She's packing her things now. There's three more days for her to be at the school. She leaves out two outfits for tomorrow and Saturday, and then the dress she's wearing under her gown on graduation. She also leaves out some undergarments, her favorite leather flip-flops, her heels, and her toiletries bag. Everything else is being packed away in her suitcases.

As she goes through her closet in the room, she finds that half the things are hers, and the other half belongs to Cappie. A lump forms in her throat as she picks up his tee-shirts, boxers (they're clean, she would know because she washed them all), and even a pair of his Lucky brand jeans (hey, Casey likes that on the inside of the fly, it says '_lucky you!'_). She tosses everything she sees that belongs to him while she cleans her closet out, and when she's finally done packing she has no idea what to do with the pile in the corner of the room. She figures that she can either return them, Cappie will come back to get them, or she can just give them to charity or something.

But being Casey, she can't just give them away knowing that they have an owner. And, being Casey, she wants any excuse to see Cappie again. Even if it is on bad terms, even if it's the last time they'll ever see each other. Even if he doesn't say a word to her…Casey just needs to _see _him.

So she finds a box in the pantry, and clears out the contents. So what if it's Lauren's _Jenny Craig _food? Casey has a more important issue to deal with. She takes the box back upstairs and neatly folds the clothes that belong to her ex-lover up, placing them in it. To her surprise, it fits absolutely perfectly…but then again, it's Casey Cartwright…things just seem to go her way most of the time. Now packed and ready to go, she heads down the stairs and out the door, ignoring Dale's call of: Casey! I made celery and cream cheese for you!

She's walking fast…actually, she's walking way too fast, compared to the shoes she has on: her highest wedges. Her heart is also racing and her face is bright red (she can feel how hot it is), and she wonders why she's blushing already. Casey slows down. She takes a deep breath. And she presses a hand to her face quickly to monitor the temperature of it.

As she walks down the sidewalk to the KT house, she is muttering to herself. Practicing what she'll say when she gets to the house. "Hi…I'm here to see uh, Cappie. No…hey, is Cappie there? No! Er… Cappie. Need to see Cappie please. Gosh darnit! Why do these all sound so dumb? Hello…I just need to….shit. I just need to calm down." She takes another deep breath and keeps going.

She's halfway to the house, when she runs into the other person. It's so quick that she hardly realizes she's hit someone. She just isn't moving, and the box has almost fallen out of her arms. She looks up to apologize quickly. "I'm so sorry I—Cap?"

And there he is, her ex-boyfriend, and her always lover, Cappie. He too, is carrying a box. Casey knows what's in it, since she always takes inventory of what she packs, and she has the list of missing items back at the house. "Hey." Cappie says. It's not hesitant. It's not sweet and shy. But it's not completely cold. Still, it hits Casey like ice, and she cringes a bit.

"Hi." She says slowly. "I um…have this…for you."

"And I have this." He moves the box a bit.

"Well. Er…"

"Just set it down, I'll pick it up."

"Okay." Casey nods. But she doesn't put it down. She keeps holding it. And she doesn't know why.

"Case. Just set it down please?"

"No." She whispers.

"Huh?"

"No…" She says a little louder. Cappie gives her the strangest look, and then his tone turns a little harsh.

"Why the hell not, Casey?"

"Because…"

"Well, Ms. I'm-Going-To-GW Law School, that is just a great answer. Do you expect a comment like that to win you your case?"

Suddenly, tears begin to pour out of her eyes. She doesn't even realize she's been holding them back until they come out. "What the hell is your problem Cappie?" She asks through them, "That was taking things way, way too far. You're just jealous that I got into law school, and you have no plans for the future." Cappie opens his mouth to say something (something snarky, Casey can tell by the way his lip curls up a bit), but Casey makes it a point to cut him off.

"I just…I didn't mean that Cappie. I didn't. I…I didn't want to…" She looks at Cappie and sees the way his eyes are glinting with something: a mix of anger, a bit of disdain, and a lot of hurt. "You know what? Take what's yours. I'll take what's mine. It's not hard at all, and I'm sorry I even voiced my refusal in the first place." She throws the box on the ground and holds her arms out to collect the box that Cappie is holding. He shoves it at her, not forcefully, but heatedly, and she stumbles a bit on her wedges. But when Cappie's expression changes when he realizes he could have hurt her, Casey just turns on one heel and storms away. She can hear Cappie picking up his box of things and turning to go back to the KT house. As she walks away, more tears slide down her cheeks and neck, and some hit the pavement beneath her feet.

She's not even twenty feet away from where the two had met, when she hears a box hitting the ground and Cappie saying, "Casey. Please…not this time. I don't want to end it like this, this time."

Casey doesn't have to think about it. She drops her own box, and spins around quickly, running to Cappie. His arms are wide open, and she falls into them, crying into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Cappie. I don't want to leave you…but I have to go."

"I know, Casey. I know."

"But I love you, and this is just so hard….I can't …I don't want to lose you. I'm so sorry for saying those things about you, I didn't mean it. I know you aren't jealous of me…I know you enjoy not knowing what the future holds…and I know you love me. I love you too Cappie, but I just…I want this more than anything."

Cappie didn't hold back, he quickly captured her lips with his and kissed her passionately. Pulling away he said with a heavy huff, "I know babe. I know."

Tears were still coming. "But that means I'll be so far away from you. I can't do that. You are just too important to me, Cappie."

"You mean the world to me too, Casey. Which is why I did this…" He pulled something out of his pocket, handing it to her. Casey took it, and her eyes widened a bit.

"Oh Cap!"

"Community College," He laughed, "Easy to pick a major, not too hard to stay focused due to the lack of Greek, and NOVA is only three miles from George Washington."

"I don't know what to say." Casey said, looking back at his transfer paper. "I…this is big. I—"

"I love you too, Casey. I love you, too."

* * *

**A/N: **After a long break, I'm back into the world of Greek. And may I say, it feels good. So, I hope you enjoyed my little one-shot. Review with the good, the bad, or the ugly and I'll give you a cookie. Promise. ;D

But no, seriously. Review it.


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